Giving Thanks, The Twenty-Third Edition

Today I give thanks for my Medical Team. This team includes my Chiropractor, Neuologist, Radiation Oncologist, NeuroSurgeons, General Practitioner, and even my GYNE. I have been blessed with a fine team for the most part.

In no particular order:

My Chiropractor is fabulous. Not only does he take good care of my back and neck but he has taken a great interest in learning about my brain tumor/cancer and is therefore very good for advice and just to talk. I have often wondered if the injury that caused my whiplash was actually the first step in helping me find my brain cancer. Had I not seen him for this injury I may have never had the Trigeminal checked out and therefore never found the tumor. He is great and I thank him for his ear and the little device he uses called the Activator.

Although I have only seen my Neurologist once to this point, he is very good and he and I clicked very quickly. He was very upfront and honest with me when I saw him about the trigeminal and I know he was as shocked as anyone when we found out it was a tumor. I look forward to working with him further in the years to come.

My Radiation Oncologist is a very nice guy and from what we can tell so far, he did a good job. Even though my intuition still tells me that I made the wrong choice, I do trust that he did what he thought was right.

My many NeuroSurgeons have been an experience. Leaving out the first NS, I have had a very good team. My third NS was amazing and I'm really sorry he didn't do my surgery and therefore is no longer my NS. He and I clicked a lot and I think he was a HUGE part in convincing me to do surgery. I would have probably never done it if not for him. Even my current NS did a great job on the surgery and to that I owe him a lot. The outcome of surgery could have been so much different but I had a good team.

My GP has been with me for almost eleven years now and takes the time to get to know us. He sometimes jumps to conclusions but he always does it in good faith. He has assisted with coordinating tests and the like locally even though he gets little credit for it. He has made my life much easier as a result.

Finally, my GYNE is a wonderful man. Yes, he has nothing to do with my brain but when he found out he was very sympathetic and asked to be kept up to date. I notified his office before I had surgery and they all put me on their prayer list. His nurse was very shocked when I called her the afternoon of surgery to let her know it all went well. She said that the doctor had asked if anyone had heard several times that afternoon but none of them truly expected to hear until the next day. Can you see the heart this guy has?

So to my Medical Team.... Thank you.